Isaiah 20:4

4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Ethiopians as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Isaiah 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 20:4

So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians
prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives
As beasts are led or driven, being taken prisoners, and carried captive by the king of Assyria, namely Sargon, whoever is intended by him:

young and old;
without any regard to age, sparing none for their tender years or gray hairs:

naked and barefoot;
as prisoners of war commonly are, being stripped by their conquerors of their clothes, and having only a few rags given them to cover their nakedness with, and obliged to travel without shoes on their feet:

even with [their] buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt;
having no clothes on them to cover those parts; or the skirts of their garments cut off, as David's servants were by the Ammonites, ( 2 Samuel 10:4 ) and this to humble and mortify the pride of the Egyptians.

Isaiah 20:4 In-Context

2 at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and loose the sackcloth from your loins and take your sandals off your feet," and he had done so, walking naked and barefoot.

3 Then the Lord said, "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Ethiopia,

4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as captives and the Ethiopians as exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

5 And they shall be dismayed and confounded because of Ethiopia their hope and of Egypt their boast.

6 In that day the inhabitants of this coastland will say, "See, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?' "

Footnotes

• [a]. Or [Nubians]; Heb [Cushites]